Is it advisable to stick around and wait to see what happens? Or get the hell outta dodge?
I do not see any success moving forward but yet again we have no idea what is happening since no one can give an honest answer. I see mass layoffs but hope we can severances but yet again Carnot get a straight answer out of anyone at the top.
Thoughts from those still there or even those that left?
'If you are tired of doing the job of 2-3 people move on'
Seeing more and more of this and it's getting worse.
Gee, work 12+ hours a day with no assurance of a job, nevermind advancement - wonder what direction I'd be leaning on a 'stay or go' decision?
As a former employee with many many many years invested in Sungard AS that got out late last year, it is totally worth moving on. If you have people who rely on your income and insurance, move on. If you are stressed out and can't relax, move on. If you are tired of doing the job of 2-3 people move on. No matter what the outcome, you will not be rewarded. Either you get laid off if they crao the bed or they make it and give you an A-plus award.
Get with a healthy company. They will work you just as hard, but it is so much better when you are achieving instead of looking over your shoulder.
There will be little to no severance. Most likely none
I don't usually comment here but I want to share my thoughts. I worked for Sungard AS for many years. During the boom years it was an amazing company with great benefits and a wonderful work culture. That started to erode when the private equity firms bought the company and started their cost cutting. There used to be Kickoffs, Christmas Parties, Hershey Park days, etc. That slowly eroded along with the head count. During my time there had to have been at least 20 different rounds of layoffs. It got to the point that the week or so after quarter end you knew people were going. 10-20 people were just enough to fly under the radar. I honestly don't know who they are going to layoff. They are already incredibly bare bones. I did the work of two people and I am not exaggerating. Back-fills were rare and someone needed to do the work. 12 hour days were not uncommon. I am glad they let me go while there was still severance because that policy is not engraved in stone. If you read it, it says they MAY give you severance. It doesn't say they will. If being unemployed with no severance is something you can handle financially, ride it out. You might get a retention offer if they really need you. If you can't, I would start looking. If they really do a mass layoff, the market is going to be glutted with applicants. They can spin this however they want but I would do a gut check of the track history of this company and decide. I never thought they would let me go... they needed me. But, they don't care what kind of performer you are anymore. They want the reduction to the bottom line. Managers were usually told who they were letting go and had little to no input into the decision. I am not a disgruntled ex-employee. Sungard was good to me and I learned so much working there. But, I also got a severance package. Not sure how I would feel now if I hadn't. It is just a shame that this leadership team refused to adapt to the times. They talked about the eroding recovery services base for years but could not stop it. I don't see how they are going to stop it now with manged services. They came a lot more than fashionably late to the cloud party.
Nothing like a promise from an anonymous person.
Yes. Leave. the grass is greener, I promise.
It’s quite amazing to see people coming to a site like this asking for advice and/or relying on the information here in general.
You of course get the “see I told you it was true!” while overlooking the 10 other things that were false rumors.
ANYONE from ANYWHERE can comment here. Even people that work for SG competition. Just food for thought.
Trust your gut and rely on facts. If your gut tells you to leave, then you should. If you feel like there is time to see how things shake out, then do that...but search for your facts from inside the company, not from people that don’t identify themselves so you can validate the credibility of their claims.
Never thought I’d resort to commenting on a website like this because for the last 20yrs I’ve chosen to remain positive and hopeful. Quite frankly, I have zero desire to spend my day bashing my company. Sungard AS has been good to me and I’ve been good to them. Perhaps the news is finally sinking in though. I’ve watched lay-off after lay-off through the years. The only peace I got was knowing some of the fine folks let go received a severance package to ease a bit of the burden and stress while looking for a new job. The light bulb just turned on though.....perhaps me staying is an incredibly irresponsible risk to take. I have a family and children who rely on my income and health benefits. I have never collected unemployment in my life, and unemployment alone would never put a dent in the cost of out of pocket healthcare for a family of 4, along with my monthly expenses. It’s so scary thinking that I might stick this out and stay positive for a company that could very well leave me unemployed with no severance. That betrayal alone would forever jade my perception and trust in future employers. I take pride in having a good work ethic and positive attitude. Staying here is WAY too risky and that is a real shame.
"No one can give an honest answer" - that should tell you everything you need to decide whether you sound stay
Think of this from a customer view. Take advice from the SGAS web page: "All organizations face unexpected disruptions to their business and IT operations. Whether brought on by disaster or a new market opportunity, change can make you rethink your approach to risk."
There are plenty of ways to minimize risk. Are customers really going to take the path of betting on a company that has declared bankruptcy, ripped off their creditors, cancelled employee stock options, offshored customer support, and admitted that they haven't kept up with DR approaches? The cherry on top is that this has been going on for years, and the exact same leadership team is still there.
If you are really wondering whether it is best to stay, you are hoping for an answer that is flat out wrong.
I would suggest that needs to come from you. If you enjoy what you do and who you do it with, then I would continue to work hard and make a positive impact and be there to influence those around you in the same manner. If you are unsatisfied with the environment and don’t enjoy what you do, then move on. Sitting arround and waiting for a package is not very fulfilling and the job of you dreams may be out there only to get filled why you were waiting arround.